Most Albion students will tell you that spending a semester off campus is a great learning experience, and after completing my first internship at Thomson Reuters last spring, I’d have to agree. However, great opportunities sometimes spring up where we least expect them. That’s how I ended up spending the fall just a few miles away, involved with something that's been a passion for years.
Specialty food entrepreneur Dave Zilko shares his story of business success as a guest speaker for Albion College’s Gerstacker Institute on Tuesday, February 5, at 7 p.m. in the Norris Science Center's Towsley Hall.
Zilko founded his first specialty food company more than 20 years ago. Today he is an equity partner in multiple successful food enterprises, most notably Garden Fresh Gourmet, maker of the number-one brand of fresh salsa in North America. He is also an operating partner at Huron Capital, a Detroit-based private equity firm, and is on the boards of the $60 million Grow Michigan venture fund and Jimmy Buffett’s “Singing for Change” foundation, among others. Zilko graduated from Michigan State University and holds an MBA from George Washington University.
This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Gerstacker Institute Coordinator Anne Cox at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 517/629-0418.
Despite LinkedIn, Google, and the examples set by television crime shows, Web-based background searches aren't always – or often -- easy. "My boss says our job is a little like a murder mystery – sometimes it's really difficult just to confirm that someone is employed where the system says," said communication studies major Mitchell Jeffery, '14. "Or you might be looking for employment data and find out someone's involved in a lawsuit. There can be a sense of accomplishment just finding out where someone works."
Albion College alumni return for a panel discussion on "The Business of Science" Monday, November 12 at 7 p.m. in the College's Norris Science Center Towsley Hall. The panel is sponsored by the Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management.
The panelists will cover many issues focusing on the benefits of a scientifically-focused education on the development and management of business. "Training in the sciences, like a liberal arts education, can be applied to many business situations, like organizational management, supply-chain strategy," said Gerstacker Institute coordinator Anne Cox. "These skills transfer to many areas of business."
Panelists include Jayme Cannon, '04, a vaccine formulation scientist at Novavax, where she develops vaccines that will be stored and manufactured in developing countries; Joe Heinzelmann, ‘04, a product manager market development manager for Neogen; and Chip Hurley, real estate officer and associate broker with Macatawa Bank .
This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Gerstacker Institute,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or 517/629-0418.